विधिहीनम् असृष्टान्नं मन्त्रहीनम् अदक्षिणम् । श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञं तामसं परिचक्षते ॥
vidhi-hīnam asṛṣṭānnaṃ mantra-hīnam adakṣiṇam | śraddhā-virahitaṃ yajñaṃ tāmasaṃ paricakṣate ||
Tāmasic yajña: against ordinance, no food-sharing, no mantras, no dakṣiṇā, no śraddhā — declared tāmasic.
Word by word (3)
- vidhi-hīnam asṛṣṭānnaṃ mantra-hīnam adakṣiṇam
- — against ordinance (vidhi-hīna = lacking vidhi), no food distributed (asṛṣṭa-anna = not-released/distributed food), without mantras (mantra-hīna), without dakṣiṇā/priestly fees (adakṣiṇa) — four external deficiencies
- śraddhā-virahitam yajñam
- — the sacrifice (yajñam) empty of śraddhā (śraddhā-virahita = totally devoid of faith) — the deepest deficiency; without śraddhā, the act is hollow even if all rituals are performed
- tāmasam paricakṣate
- — is declared/called (paricakṣate = they declare) tāmasic (tāmasam) — the tradition's verdict on ritual without these five components
That sacrifice which is against ordinance, in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of mantras and offerings to priests, and which is empty of śraddhā — that is declared tāmasic.
A modern analogy
Tāmasic sacrifice is like going through the motions — showing up to a religious ceremony without really being present, without the proper form, without sharing anything with anyone, and without any genuine inner engagement. It has the name 'yajña' but none of the substance.
V13 closes the three-fold yajña analysis with five deficiencies. Structurally, tāmasic yajña is the opposite of sāttvic at every level: V11 has vidhi (ordinance), anna-distribution, mantras, dakṣiṇā, and śraddhā — V13 lacks all five. The deepest deficiency, placed last, is śraddhā-virahita (empty of śraddhā) — connecting back to the chapter's opening insight that śraddhā is the foundation of everything. Without śraddhā, no yajña is possible; with śraddhā, even informal worship has power.
The inclusion of śraddhā-virahita as the defining mark of tāmasic yajña returns to the chapter's central theme: the chapter opened (V1-3) by asking what happens when śraddhā is present but śāstra is not. V13 shows the deeper problem: when śraddhā is absent entirely. The āsurī person in Ch.16 had kāma-krodha as their engine; the tāmasic practitioner has simply nothing — inertia (tamas) = absence of the inner fire that makes religious action live.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
They declare that worship to be Tamasic which is contrary to the ordinances, in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of mantras and gifts, and which is devoid of faith. [1]
The Yajna performed without heed to ordinance, in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of Mantras, gifts, and Shradda, is said to be Tamasika. [4]
They call that sacrifice dark, which is against the ordinances (of scripture), in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of (sacred) texts and gifts to Brahmanas, and which is empty of faith. [9]
That sacrifice which is against the ordinance, in which no food is dealt out, which is devoid of mantras (sacred verse), in which no fees are paid to the brahmanas assisting to it, and which is void of faith, is said to be of the quality of darkness. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Mental tapas: serenity of mind, kindliness, silence, self-restraint, and purity of motive/bhāva.
Rājasic tapas: done for reception, honour, worship, and show — unstable and transient.
This teaching is never to be given to the non-ascetic, non-devotee, non-service-minded, or one who criticizes Me.
Even one who only hears this with śraddhā and without malice is liberated and reaches the pure worlds of the righteous.
Whoever studies this sacred dialogue — by him I shall have been worshipped by jñāna-yajña; such is My conviction.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.